Darkness to Light is teaming up with USA Gymnastics as part of an initiative to promote a safe environment for young athletes. Darkness to Light will provide USA Gymnastics with tools and resources focused on awareness, prevention, policy, and reporting of child sexual abuse.

Charleston, SC – July 31, 2012 Darkness to Light is excited to announce its partnership with USA Gymnastics, the national governing body for gymnastics in the United States.

The USA Gymnastics Board of Directors recently approved an initiative which will designate Darkness to Light as an official education partner. Darkness to Light will provide child sexual abuse education materials focused in the areas of awareness, prevention, policy implementation and reporting.

Jolie Logan, president and CEO of Darkness to Light hailed the partnership saying, “We commend USA Gymnastics for playing a greater role in the protection of children. Organizations must strive to set new standards for prevention in their communities, and we hope this initiative by USA Gymnastics inspires other organizations to be proactive in prevention.”

The Approved Initiatives Include:

Expanding the sexual misconduct education information in the “Safety Certification and Risk Management” course required for professional membership and renewed every four years.

Implementing an educational campaign to raise awareness within the Member Clubs and Registered Businesses about the importance of a safe gymnastics environment and the role adults play in establishing and maintaining a safe gymnastics environment.

Providing Member Clubs and Registered Businesses with parent- and athlete-specific materials for in-club distribution.

Including educational articles for athletes on the website and in USA Gymnastics magazine.

The new education-focused efforts will compliment and bolster child safety measures already in effect for USA Gymnastics. “Promoting a safe environment for our athletes continues to be a top priority for USA Gymnastics,” said Steve Penny, president and CEO of USA Gymnastics. “We have an ongoing evaluation of our policies and procedures in this area, and we believe that increased education of our members, athletes and athlete families is an important part of this process.”

Darkness to Light (D2L) is a national non-profit based in Charleston, SC that is dedicated to the prevention of child sexual abuse. D2L has affiliates in 49 states and 15 countries. More than 300,000 adults worldwide have completed D2L’s “Stewards of Children” training, which helps adults prevent, recognize and react responsibly to signs of child sexual abuse.

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One response to “Darkness to Light Teams With USA Gymnastics as Prevention Partner – Official Release”

All sports teams need to implement the D2L Stewards program to raise awareness of the sexual predators drawn to team sports which involve children and young adults. I look forward to a time when our culture embraces the priority to protect children from sexual predation. Thank you D2L for all your good work!